The continent of Cornucopia, with its fair weather, is the most habitable.

Originally no humans lived on the continent. It was only inhabited by the Ashens, a peaceful race whose appearance is somewhere between human and beast. They possessed the ability to use elemental magic and followed a faith that promoted balance between Light and Darkness.

This religion worshipped Zoraster, an elder with half of his body covered in flames. The followers believed that their god represented the balance between good and evil. They commonly blessed one another with the phrase "May the Light and Shadow grant you serenity."

The peaceful days came to an end when a massive foreign army arrived on ships, carrying banners of the "God of Light." The legion, known as the "Celestial Army", came from Cinders, a neighboring continent and called themselves the "Sons of the Holy Light."
The Sons were humans that worshipped an Immortal named "Shalier." Their religion is closedly connected to the "Crystal of Light" and their manifesto claims that the Crystal will bring mankind's salvation, and that the "Crystal of Darkness" is the root of all evil and must be eradicated.
The Crystal of Light is a special ore only found on Cinders. It shines with a bright yellow light and carries with it the power of truth, harvested from the world's core.
Every Son of the Holy Light wears an accessory made from the Crystal, which gives them courage and pushes them beyond the physical limitations of their mortal bodies. A small, elite group among them can even use Wrathwings to soar effortlessly through the sky.

The Celestial Army arrived at Cornucopia and claimed that the world was being invaded by the Dark Power. They told the Ashens that demons were wreaking havoc on Cinders and Cornucopia would be next. They also claimed that they could bring salvation and that the Ashens must join them.
The story was a blatant fabrication. The truth was Cinders was a harsh land littered with active volcanoes. Their activities disturbed the peace of its inhabitants and entire cities were buried under lava and ash. These natural disasters were portrayed as acts of an evil god.
For thousands of years, the inhabitants if Cinders endured the painful cycle of destruction and rebuilding. With death always at their doorsteps, mankind decided to escape from Cinders.

The Celestial Army wanted the most fertile land in Cornucopia, but the Ashens refused their unreasonable demands. looking to start a war, the invaders managed to find a body of a demon in an Ashen village and used it as an excuse to make their move. They said that the Ashens have become the slaves of the Vidmoor, the Dark God, as evident in their bizarre appearance.
The War started hastily but surely, and the Ashens soon discovered that Elemental Magic had no effect on the Winged Humans.
As snow fell from the dark sky and the ash stirred up from the ground, grey and white clashed. Arrows flew from wooden ramparts. Bodies of the Ashens, with their eyes removed to rob them of their light, were piled on the altar.
When the war was nearing its end, a massive snow storm descended and smothered the entire world, wiping out nearly half the population.
This incident was named the "Battle of Dusk", also known to the humans as the the final annihilation of the Darkness. The Sons took power afterwards and renamed Cornucopia to Aurora. They also established the Alliance system and gave each city autonomy.
To remember the war, a large Crystal of Light was installed in the center of Celestial City to be guarded by the Celestial Army for eternity.
Sadly, there were no Ashens left on Aurora. They became a myth, only to be heard in epics sung by bards.

The real nightmare came 60 years later. Mutated creatures started appearing all over Aurora. The horrific and hostile demons traveled in hordes and quickly conquered the unprepared human cities.
The Crystals of Light were corrupted by the bloodthirsty demons and transformed into Crystals of Darkness, which were then used on humans to turn them into twisted and mindless creatures.
The lies told by the Celestial Army had come true. The elders, through consulting ancient books, discovered that the strange phenomenon resembled how Vidmoor once terrorized the world.

Out of options, the humans remembered about the Ashens that they wiped out a thousand years ago. They found the lost Elemental Tomes among the Ashen ruins, and learned how to control the elements. Studying the ancient tomes, the strongest human warriors became powerful Elemental Manipulators. With the enormous power from the combination of the Holy Light and elemental magic, these manipulators were able to save the remaining humans and became known as the Guardians.